It pains me slightly to bellyache about my I3 because overall I love it. But I still feel compelled to add a few thoughts about improvements in the secret hope that someone at BMW would read the comments and maybe make the next version even a little bit better. I've had my I3 about 3 months and gone a little over 2000 miles.
1) I know this is a personal preference but I hate the plastic dashboard. It looks sturdy and durable and practical and utilitarian. But to my eyes it also looks cheap. This is a BMW after all - a plastic dashboard? geeezz naugahyde would have been better. I'm hoping that someday someone will market some type of a cover that I can put over the plastic to hide it.
2) I appreciate the explanation about why the car turns itself off whenever the driver's door is opened. My introductory experience to this phenomena happened the first day I had the car. I have the habit of picking up my morning newspaper at the end of my driveway by slowing down my car to a crawl while opening the door and leaning out to scoop up the paper. This maybe sounds a little risky but I've never had any problem until the first time I tried it with my new I3. With the car going about a walking pace I opened the door and started my lean out the opening. It caught me off guard when the car slammed on the brakes causing the door to fully swing open giving me a good jerk towards the opening. Fortunately, no harm was done, and now I'm sure to come to a complete stop before opening the door to lean out for the paper. And, if I have my seat belt fastened, the car doesn't shut even itself off.
Since the car is totally quiet at a standstill I can see how it would be quite possible to accidentally exit the car and forget it's still on, so having it shut down automatically whenever the driver's belt is unfastened and the door is opened makes some sense. Still, it would be nice to be able to jump out and get the mail, for example, without completely shutting down the car. I'll leave this up to the designers at BMW to consider if there isn't a better way.
3) The left foot rest is too close. This is a common problem for me since I'm 6'4" It frustrating knowing that my leg would've had plenty of room if they had just left out the foot rest altogether. How about this BMW ( and all other car manufacturers for that matter) Why not design the footrest to fit a taller person and then at a low cost (or no cost) have optional risers that could be bolted onto the footrest so that it could be adjusted to fit any size person. How about it?
4) Too much of a good thing? I'm talking about the steering which is "very precise", and the "excellent road feel". These features sound good in print and are very desirable in a sports car, but the I3 looks like a small SUV and I bet most people use it more like a family car. The steering is almost too precise meaning that at highway speeds even moving the steering wheel a centimeter causes the car to jerk to the side, and all of the road bumps and textures come right through and are easily felt by everyone in the car. I would have preferred a little more of a "floating on a cloud" driving experience. Again, this is just my personal preference.
But overall I love the car. I love that when the light turns green it will, without any apparent effort or noise, pull away from the crowd and leaves everyone else behind. It's really amazing just how effortlessly the car accelerates and how much fun it is to drive. I find myself thinking up reasons to go to the store just so I can drive the car.
